Cinders - A Pig That Fears Mud!

They call her Cinders, short for Cinderella. But unlike her namesake, this five-week old piglet will not leave home or the ball without her shoes. For Cinders suffers from a syndrome called mysophobia - or a fear of dirt!

Cinders was born on a 1,000-acre pig farm with over 200 pigs in North Yorkshire, England. Her owners, Debbie and Andrew Keeble also own a sausage factory, where most of the pigs end up.

A few days after Cinderella was born, the Keeble's noticed that while her six siblings ran out and frolicked in the mud, Cinders just stood on the side shivering. Initially, they thought that she was afraid to leave her mother. However, they soon noticed that whenever she was taken to a place where there was no mud, she ventured out happily. That's when they realized that it might be something to do with the mud. Their 12-year old daughter suggested fitting Cinders with four miniature boots that the Keeble's used as pen holders.

Sure enough, the shoes fit really well and feeling quite smart with those on, Cinders happily ventured into the muck and joined her siblings. Now, every morning she runs to Andrew, eager to put on her shoes.

The Keebles, who have owned the farm for over 20 years have never seen this kind of behavior before and are hoping that Cinders gets over her mud phobia before she outgrows the boots!

Of course Cinders is not going to be turned into a sausage - she is more like a pet now. Instead, she will be a mascot at a campaign to support the pig farmers.